And Darkness I Become
by mufire
Summary: When Emma becomes the Dark One in a desperate attempt to save her family, her dark and white magic begins conflicting, leaving Hook as the only person who can save her from herself.


"No!" Emma screamed when she saw Rumplestiltskin moving for Henry. He wasn't Mr. Gold anymore- the magic of Neverland had reverted him back to his true form, the form of the Dark One, shimmering scaly skin and all. Emma went for him, teeth bared, ready to kill him, even if she was unarmed. Rumplestiltskin hand stretched out towards her, emitting magic to fend her off, but Emma's natural magic fought against it, fanning out and knocking him to his feet. She distantly heard her parents screaming at her, fearing for her safety.

Her hand shot up into the air and a translucent bubble moved over the sky. She had Rumple shielded from Henry, but had become trapped in a dome of her magic. With a flick of her hand, the dagger Rumplestiltskin held flew towards her and she grabbed it by the hilt.

"Stay the _hell_ away from my son," she growled, stalking towards him as anger controlled her actions. "You will not hurt my family!" she yelled. Rumplestiltskin's eyes widened as he carefully watched the dagger in her hands, knowing his fate rested with it.

"As you wish, dearie," he said, nodding his head, his eyes still wary. Emma relaxed some, and looked around. Snow and Charming were trying to get past the shield, along with..._Hook_?

And then, several things happened at once.

Rumplestiltskin lunged at her.

The shield disappeared with a crack.

She plunged the dagger into Rumplestiltskin's heart before Rumple could move a step further towards her or her son.

Before she could think of what she was really doing.

She watched the life drain from his face in swirls of dark purple magic, and his golden eyes bugged out at her from the shock. She twisted the dagger around in his chest sharply, just to make sure, as the magic began creeping up into her skin, releasing a bitter taste into her mouth while the life faded from Rumplestiltskin's eyes and was drawn into her like magnets.

When she yanked the knife from his body, the former Dark One crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

Emma felt power surging at every nerve ending and her body fighting against itself. It caused nausea to swell in her stomach as white magic fought the dark, trying to squeeze it out of her system. She looked down at the blade, where the name '_Rumplestiltskin'_ vanished and was slowly replaced with '_Emma Swan'._

"Out, get out," Emma said as she felt the magic surging beneath her skin, and felt her body being taken over by its foreign nature. The thrumming in her ears was becoming increasingly louder. When she looked around, no one had moved, and she realized she'd only spoken in a whisper.

"_Out_!" she shrieked. The magic was starting to make her skin glow. She was losing control. She exchanged glances with Regina, who nodded in understanding, and both Henry and her were gone, away from danger, at a snap of the queen's fingers, vanishing in a haze of purple smoke. Her parents were a different story, as expected. Snow even began moving closer, and Charming followed her, of course. Emma looked desperately to Hook.

"Please, get them out," she said between gritted teeth. "I can't control it._ Please_."

All he did was nod, but that was enough to let Emma know he'd keep the promise and get them to safety. He had a way with words, with convincing, and there was honestly nothing any of them could do to stop the magic boiling inside Emma from making her explode. She could dimly hear worried, arguing voices, but eventually saw Snow nodding reluctantly and the figures walking out of her side vision.

Once Hook took Charming and Snow away, to the woods, for their safety, Emma felt a part of her let go and slipped away. She closed her eyes as complete rapture overtook her, drawing gusts of winds from across Neverland. The sky howled and a low rumble of thunder sounded as Emma's hair blew in a golden curtain behind her.

When she opened her eyes again, the irises were completely black and the skin under her eyes was tinted pink. She was a dark queen, a sinister goddess, a ruler; no longer a savior but a destroyer.

She was the Dark One.

* * *

Emma knew he was coming.

She could sense it. She laid across his bed- it was_ her_ bed now, everything was _hers,_ of course- reading a book, content to live in leisure as long as she caused some sort of misery now and then. A day had passed, but that morning she had killed two Lost Ones after torturing them for sport. It had been relaxing, brought her new perspective. She could almost forgive Regina for everything she'd done. Power was an addictive and necessary fuel for the Dark One.

She heard the heavy footsteps halt just outside the cabin down and her lips curled upwards in amusement as she flipped a page in her book. The door creaked open.

Hook peered into the cabin warily, Emma smiled, finishing a paragraph and slowly placing the book to the side. He seemed startled by her appearance, but walked inside.

"Like my new look?" she asked sarcastically, with something dark and chilling hiding in her voice.

"Emma," he breathed out, coming towards her. She held her hand up in the air and he was jerked to a halt. His body froze against the invisible wall of magic Emma had constructed.

"Have you ever learned to knock? Manners, pirate," she smiled, the expression disturbing on her new face. His eyes met hers, but hers quickly drifted down to his face, to his soft lips, and she licked her own.

"I can fix this, we can, I can help you-" he tried to talk, but Emma was onto her feet in a flash. She slammed Hook up against the wall of the cabin, her eyes burning maliciously.

"There's nothing to be fixed, Hook," she snarled his name, as if the words on her tongue were poison.

"Emma, love-"

"Don't call me that!" she squeezed his neck with one hand, and a choking sound came from his throat. She smiled with fleeting satisfaction as rage curled up into her chest once more. How dare he come in here acting like he was in charge? How dare he suggest that she was a broken creature?

"Do you have any fucking idea how much I loathe you? How much I _hate_ you? You ruin everything. Everything you touch dies," she hissed, her face so close to his that their foreheads were touching. The inner locked away part of Emma was protesting, could see the sharp pain in Hook's eyes caused by her words. The active, dark part of her basked in his pain. He opened his mouth to speak and she slapped him, leaving a red mark behind.

"Stay quiet, you stupid, worthless excuse for a man. I'm talking," she said firmly, leaning forward and catching his tempting bottom lip between her teeth, and biting down, hard. He drew back from her, but she held him in place with her newfound, inhuman strength.

"Henry wouldn't have been in danger if it wasn't for you. You were going to let the whole town die because of your stupid pointless revenge. What was even for? Who were you trying to impress? Milah? She's dead," she spat, "a rotting corpse. And then you….you..."

Her eyes misted over for a moment as the real Emma tried to claw the dark magic away, but she failed. Her gaze focused back in on Hook, on his ruffled hair, the slight bruise forming just under his eyes where she'd smacked him.

"And then you come along, thinking that we are connected. That you can_ save_ me. That you make me feel something, that I care for you. Well I don't," she laughed mercilessly, "I'm just using you. I was just using you to get my son back. Now that he's back, you're nothing to me but a pretty face." Her hand stroked over the side of his face, his scruff scratching pleasantly against her palm and she wanted to touch more of him. She pressed her body more firmly against him. A new coldness had appeared in Hook's eyes.

Emma smiled darkly.

"Idiot pirate. You really are as stupid as you look. What did you think you'd come back to? Welcoming arms?" she asked, tightening her hold on his neck and lifting him into the air. Hook tried to free himself from her grasp, to no avail as her magic held him in place and her hand tightened on his throat, choking him. He gasped for air, his eyes darting about frantically, looking for an avenue of escape that she knew he wouldn't find.

Then his eyes met hers and something clicked. She dropped him, and he fell to the ground, gasping and coughing, his hand going up to soothe his sore throat. Emma staggered back a few steps, looking down at him, puzzled by what had happened. She shook it off and the cold smile returned to her face as she crouched down in front of him.

"We're going to have so much fun," she said, then appeared thoughtful. "Or rather, I will."

"Emma," he said, his voice scratchy. His eyes met hers again, troubling her with their intensity. "Love, this isn't you. Fight it."

"This is exactly me," she sneered, leaning towards him. The rage began overtaking her again, frustrated by his endearment and his insistence that she was something that needed fixed. Her fists clenched, and she didn't try to contain any of the power that began rushing towards her. Perhaps Hook sensed it in the air, because he ducked down further against the floor. Emma felt a thrill of delight over the fear she inspired, but then it all came crashing down on her at once.

Emma screamed shrilly, and around them, the ship exploded into pieces. Wood flew in shards through the air around them, almost in slow motion as the ship dissipated, and the few remnants that hadn't turned into dust sinking into the water. Magical residue shifted in the air, she could feel herself drawing more and more from it as they floated on the last piece remaining of the ship- the floor of the cabin.

Hook looked murderous yet torn. Good, he was conflicted. Just where she wanted him. Crimson blood streaked across his face where a shard had hit him, and his jaw tightened as the blood dribbled down his chin. She dragged him by his shirt and onto the beach with ease.

He shuffled away from her when his feet hit land, but she grabbed his arms, slamming him down hard to the ground, hovering atop him. She pinned his hands above his head and her tongue darted out, brushing against the tip of his chin.

"What's the matter, don't you like it?" She could feel him tensing underneath her, holding his breath. Her black eyes tried to calculate his expression; a mixture of panic, hate, lust, and something else that was unrecognizable. She rolled her hips against his and he groaned. She loved the sound.

"Emma, please," he said desperately as she nosed at his jawline.

"Yes, beg," she ordered, her voice filled with cruelty and the desire to destroy, yet also was pleased with the thought of his submission. She sucked lightly on the patch of skin right beneath his ear, and felt fire rush through her veins. She wanted him.

"Emma, look at me," he demanded, strong enough for her to look up and meet his eyes again.

"What?" she asked, more focused on getting his clothes off than conversing, but she kept her eyes on his as she began unbuttoning his shirt and revealing more of his skin. She wanted to taste in all until he was begging her to stop.

"Think of what you're doing, Emma," he said, seeming uncertain of himself, which was a new one for Hook. He looked lost. Abandoned. Emma felt a small tug at her heart as she tried to escape the darkness, but it was consuming her, eating her alive.

"Come now. You can fight this. You're a tough lass, remember?" he asked with a hint of a smile, and that time with him on the giant's beanstalk flashed in her mind.

His witty flirting and the heartfelt moments between them._ Have you ever even been in love?_

How she'd abandoned him, chained him up, let him down. _It's called trust, darling._

And then, in present time, he arched his neck up and kissed her softly on the cheek.

She blinked a few times, trying to fight through the inner turmoil her mind was submerged in. The darkness inside her was feeding off the insecurities, the resentment of being alone all her life. But for some reason, those memories with Hook were countering its effects, along with his show of physical affection, and green began to seep back into her irises. She could see the hopefulness on Hook's face.

When she reached clarity again, she scrambled off of him as fast as she could, falling back on her bottom and catching herself with open palms, leaning backwards and breathing heavily as she stared at him.

"Oh,_ God_, I can't, _I can't_," she said, close to tears as she eyed the dagger tucked into her belt. She noted Hook's unbuttoned shirt, and felt sickened by her actions and what she had been planning to do to him.

She unsheathed the ornate dagger and handed it in Hook's direction. "Take it, please, quickly" she said. "If you control me, I can't hurt anyone." A part of her couldn't believe she was trusting Hook with this, of all people, but the other half of her wasn't so surprised. If anyone knew what darkness was and how to defeat it when it was inside you, it was Hook.

He stared at what she was offering him with incredulity. She knew the power she was giving him, and almost wanted to panic when he reached for the dagger, but she let him take it. A moment of sharp doubt hit her, but it was too late for her to act- his hand was already gripping the hilt. An electric shock was felt deep in her chest as the dagger passed from her hands to his, and she let out a breath as their eyes met again, though tears were clouding her vision, and now they were streaming down her face.

"If I lose it, if I lose control again, I'll kill you. Do_ not_ let me have that dagger back, Hook, promise," she warned him. Hook nodded, looking somber. Still, she could feel the darkness in her, but it was now contained, on a leash that Hook now held.

She looked around at the devastation she had caused and tears flooded her eyes. She couldn't stand it. Guilt was creeping up on her like an old enemy.

"I'm...I'm sorry about your ship," she managed to say before choking back a sob, mainly overwhelmed by the relief surging through her. Her magic now had some control over it now, with Hook possessing the dagger. She could barely register Hook putting an arm around her, holding her as she let it all out and collapsed against him exhaustedly.


End file.
